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COROWA man Christopher James Glare described yesterday how he looked in the mirror when heavily addicted to ice and did not like what he saw.
Glare admitted distancing himself from his wife, Belinda, daughters and mother, but explained in the District Court in Albury how his six months on remand in Junee jail had been good for him.
“I feel really good. I feel myself again and I have got my personality back,” he told Judge Richard Cogswell SC.
Glare, 30, said he could not recall what made him start using ice.
“It was one of the worst mistakes in my life,” he said.
His Wagga solicitor, Dave Barron, said Glare was a perfect example of the devastation and havoc caused by drugs, particularly ice.
Glare was supported in court by a large family contingent, including his grandfather, sisters, brother, stepfather and uncle, for a sentencing hearing over aggravated break and enter charges along with theft offences.
His wife gave evidence and described Glare as “the nicest, kindest and caring guy she had ever met”, but that personality had disappeared with the drugs.
She was unable to leave her daughters, now aged three and 11 months, with Glare when he was using ice.
“I want back the man I fell in love with,” she said.
His mother, Karen Collins, said Glare pushed his family away and went into a downward spiral on ice which she said was an epidemic in the community.
“He started hanging around with not so nice people. I am elated because I have got my son back,” she said.
Glare is a mechanic, loves working on cars and had a job with Blacklocks in Wodonga.
He started smoking ice costing $100 for a “point” (0.1 gram) which initially lasted him a week, but his use grew.
“The more you use, the more you need it. Before you know it, every single day you are chasing that hit,” he explained.
Glare said people steal, bludge and commit crime to feed their drug habits.
“My friends were criminals and I became a criminal. I sank to the lowest,” he said.
“I quit my job. It was the best job I have ever had. People around me were not working.
“I let myself down, I let my family down.”
Glare said he was disgusted and embarrassed by what he did.
“It is a result of where I went wrong which is drugs. They have destroyed everything I built with a click of the fingers.
“The first 90 days are the hardest being off the drugs.
“My plans are to have normality back in my life.”
Judge Cogswell has deferred Glare’s sentencing until next week.